Last week, I decided to paint one wall of my studio black. Chalkboard black.

It all happened very quickly so I bought these Martha Stewart bottles from Art Friend as I knew they had them for sure. I didn't have much time to shop around but I believe you can find other versions at the hardware shops too. In the end, I used 5 bottles and added a little water to help it spread. What you see above is the wall with just one layer of paint. In the end, I painted 3 coats before it looked right. If you aren't sure how much you need, just measure your wall and then ask the nice people at Art Friend to give you advice. They are quite helpful.

I also asked my instagram friends whether they had chalkboard walls and what their experience was. Everyone had good things to say and I hope to share mine with you soon.

Over the weekend, I chanced upon these paper eggs that are approximately the size of my hand. I couldn't resist and bought 4 of them. One in each colour and am excited about filling them up for the kids.

They cost $2.50 and I found them in the food section at IKEA if you are keen to head down to get a few.

But to source for one would have meant ordering them online and they generally cost around $20 or more. I'm not really a cross-stitch hobbyist and the last time I cross stitched was in my teens and well, that was a while ago. So for me, it didn't seem worth the effort.

The wonderful thing is that while I was out shopping for supplies on Saturday, I happened to chance upon a pink iphone cover with holes. I thought to myself that it might be suitable for stitching if the needle could go through easily but I wasn't sure. So I bought one to test. That afternoon, I poked a needle through the hole and as it turns out, the needle passed through fine and here I am telling you so you can head over to get one for just $2 a piece. I'm sure you have now guessed that I was at Daiso, the perfect place to score craft supplies on the cheap.

For those of you who can't wait to get hold of one, here are a few things to note:- The phone cover is only available in the iphone 5 version. - The cover is made of plastic and not silicon so I found sewing quite easy. I managed to sew while watching the final episodes of homeland on my ipad and didn't poke any fingers in the process despite being a noob at sewing.- The packaging doesn't actually say that it is for cross stitch so I took a photo to make it easier for you to spot it (see image below). - Also, if you are planning on heading there today, when I was at ION orchard yesterday, I spotted them in an array of colours (pink, lilac, mint, navy blue, brown, black and white). The plaza singapura outlet only had them in pink.- At ION Orchard outlet, they were located right next to the cashier when I was there yesterday. - If you are unable to head down soon, you can try calling beforehand to reserve the item by quoting this number (Daiso Code: 4 549131 155662). I have now created a list of the Daiso outlets on my blog but you can also find the phone numbers on your Daiso receipt.

Finally, I realise that quite a number of my readers are not based in Singapore and hey, I would like to help you too. Thus, I have decided to expand my posts to include sources outside Singapore. The cases at these links aren't $2 but if you want one badly, at least you know where you can find one.

Oh and if you are thinking of purchasing a whole bundle for christmas gifts, you might want to check out Aliexpress. I've purchased a number of things from their site before. The key is to check out the reviews before buying and search for the more reliable suppliers. Have you ever purchased anything from Ali Express? How was your experience?

As always, if you know of another new source, do share it with us in the comments.A bit thanks to Keri who shared a source for the transparent iphone covers for those living in the US. Thanks so much, Keri!

* A small note to let you know that I have decided to group all the craft supply posts from the Singapore Secrets series together in a new category called FIND. Here, you will find sources for craft supplies that I have used and love. Do be patient with me as I sort out the old posts and classify them accordingly. If you liked this post, visit FIND for more posts in the series.

Since my post on creating your own customisable iphone cover, I am sure many of you have been trying to hunt down your own transparent iphone covers.

Here are a few places that might have them :

1. United Square Level B1 - Opposite Mac Donalds, there is a booth that sells handphone covers in different styles and colours.

2. Scape Level B1 - There are at least two shops that sell an array of handphone covers. I have ot checked it they have the transparent case but if you do find out, do leave a comment here so others are in the know.

3. Toy OutpostJurong Point, #03-05 - I was in Jurong over the weekend and found transparent iphone 4S ($6) and iphone 5 covers ($10) here. You can try checking out other Toy Outpost locations if one is near you and you might find them there too.

If you know of a place that stocks them, please do share them in the comments. I'm sure someone else will find it helpful. Thanks!

// Photos snapped by me at Scape Underground

[This post is part of an ongoing series on the blog called Singapore Secrets where I share tips to living in Singapore and places to find supplies for crafting, baking and making stuff with your hands.]

I sometimes think my stash is large but then I see pictures on instagram of other people's collections and I instantly feel better. Haha perhaps it is all relative.

Now if you went crazy for washi tape, have you see the washi tape printer?

Created by Coharu, this little printer prints on washi tape. It only prints on tape that are compatible with the printer and the tapes are slightly different from MT tapes.

I bought mine from Tokyo when I was there in December along with lots of extra tape. But if you aren't planning to head to Tokyo anytime soon but would like to get your hands on one, you will be happy to know that you can find it at the Stationery Superstore which is located on Level 2 at Funan Digitalife Mall.

If you don't live in Singapore, you can also purchase it online via etsy here. To see how it works, check out the video below. It is in Japanese but it isn't too hard to understand.

p.s Thanks to everyone who has been voting at the Singapore Blog Awards. I really appreciate your votes and am still pleasantly surprised by the support. Voting is still happening. You can vote everyday until 23 June!

I also have a special surprise that I will be announcing after the Award Ceremony (on the 6 July) to thank all of you for your support whether I win or not. So stay tuned!

As you know, I really love working with flowers so I recently signed up for an online floral arranging class with Chelsea Fuss and I am glad I did. Although I struggled to complete the homework, the videos were helpful and I definitely learnt quite a bit. The class was organised by Nicole's Classes and it was a 4 week course where we watched videos through an app that I downloaded on my computer. Each week, I had the freedom to choose whatever flowers I wanted to use for the assignments and then I took photos of my arrangements and Chelsea would give feedback.

In one of the assignments, we were asked to create a floral crown. This was super fun! I only wished I had a little girl to wear it and model it for me.

Here are some of the supplies that we used:

We used floral tape and floral stem wire to create the round shape and then floral tape to bind the flowers to the crown. One thing I learnt from the class was that stretching the floral tape actually makes it sticky!

I already had floral tape and wire at home which I had purchased from my nearby Florist, Far East Flora but I bet you can find them at any wholesale florist.

She also shared her favourite type of clippers which are Ohkubo flower arrangement shears. I couldn't find them in Singapore so I ordered a pair and am looking forward to clipping my flowers with them.

This class has definitely inspired me to play with florals so you just might see more of them in this space.

It was a Home Economics project at school and I think I recall it being black and red. I had chosen to use felt then because it wouldn't fray and the thickness made it easy to handle. I think I threw it away years ago cos um, my taste has changed over the years.

What hasn't changed though is that I still have a soft spot for felt.Especially grey felt. That has to be my favourite.I have been crafting with it this week and having lots of fun.

If you are wondering where to find felt in Singapore, you can find it at the following places:

1. Daiso Felt is available here in long rolls (70 x 60 cm) and are sold for $2 each. (Thanks Delphine for the measurements)

2. ArtfriendKnown for stocking all sorts of craft material, it is no surprise that you can find felt at Artfriend. Sold in approx A4 sizes at $0.75 each and in an array of colours. Perfect if you want an assortment of colours but a small quantity of each kind.

3. Clementi Book StoreLocated at Block 451, Clementi Avenue 3 (the building with the polyclinic and the NTUC) you can find them here in large rolls 36" x 50cm and each cost $5. These are great for larger projects. (shared by Delphine)

As usual, here is some craft inspiration using felt that I have pinned to my Craft with Felt Pinterest Board. Aren't the felt doll face brooches just darling? I would love to make them with friends. I also have this desire to make grey felt boxes to store my jewellery in. What would you make?

* If you enjoyed this post, you might like other posts in the Singapore Secrets series.

Although my favourite colour is white, I occasionally enjoy reaching for brown kraft paper to craft with. In fact, when it comes to wrapping, brown kraft paper is my choice of giftwrap. Well, that and sometimes mahjong paper. It is no wonder that Julie Andrews sang about brown paper packages tied up with string as being one of her favourite things.

If you would like to hunt down some kraft paper, here are a few places where you will find them.

If you would like to share a DIY Craft Tutorial on your blog or website, please only use one or two photos and link back to my website for the full tutorial. If you have any questions, you can reach me at mailscissorspaperstone [at] gmail [dot] com. Thank You!